With reference to Mohammad Yaqoob’s report titled ‘Players face threat as PCB mulls elimination of departmental cricket’ (DAWN, April 23, 2014), a PCB spokesman has clarified that jobs will be created and not lost in the process.

The plan to revamp the domestic system will not “lead to hundreds of cricketers being rendered unemployed” due to the elimination of departmental teams, as has been alleged by the said report. Instead, departments and cricketers are expected to get a bigger role in managing the affairs of regional teams. This is an attempt to give these departments greater power, authority and money. It would lead to the creation of many new jobs for the best cricketers of the country.

The PCB spokesman also pointed out that nowhere in the world is domestic cricket based on departmental cricket; it is based on regions. The proposed new domestic structure will make it more autonomous and democratic. Departments will be more empowered as both organisers and sponsors regionally while regions will become more efficient as a result.

It is a measure of PCB’s sense of responsibility that it will invite former Test Captains to review its proposed plan, followed by interactions with stakeholder Departments and Regions before finalizing any plan to revamp domestic cricket.